By BRENDAN luTEs
PHOTOS BY STEVE BRUHN
ad you predicted that by the halfway point of the 2004
outdoor National MX Series that Ricky Carmichael
would win every moto, your friends probably would
have laughed at you . Not so much because Carmichael
doesn't have that capability or the talent , after all he 's
done it before, but mainly because he was coming off a serious knee
injury that required surgery and left him couch-bound for months. As
you probably already kno w, Carmichael sat out the entire '04 Supercross Series, so when the outdoor Nationals got going, you would have
understandably thought that Carmichae l would have been a bit rusty,
while his competitors, on the other hand , were already well broken in
to the '04 season (but perhaps a bit worn down , though). Plus, he was
going to race the four-stroke fo r the first time. But a fresh Carmichael,
hungry to race again, returned to t he Nat ionals on fire, as thoug h he
hadn't misse d a beat and was seemingly better than ever. Little d id anyone know that w hile he was laid up. he was plott ing a comeback like
nothing else . Showing up at the first round with "Sea Biscuit" sewn on
his pants, Carmichael was ready to play the part of the underdog and
prove to everyone that he is still the man to beat.
Two years ago when he accomplished the impossible - completing the
first perfect season in AMA Nat ional MX history - everyone said that it
was something that would never be duplicated . Carmichael, however, is
hoping to pro ve everyone wrong.
We caught up wit h Carmichael at the Unad illa Nationals and to uched
upo n his retu rn, the st reak, and a little bit abo ut the futu re .
H
Go ing int o th is yea r 's o u t d o or N at ional s , did you
t h ink tha t you w o uld be d o ing as well as you are ,
es pecia lly o n t h e n ew four -strok e 4 5 0?
Q
I knew that my bike would be good and I would be on the same
equipment, so I would have no excuses. I tho ught that I would win
fo r sure, you know, the title, but I didn't think that I would have done as
good as I have do ne so far.
A
Co mi ng into the Nationals, you wanted to prove t o everyone that you a re still the guy to be at outdoors . Did you have
any doubts whatsoeve r ?
Q
Y OU know, not re ally. I knew dee p do w n inside tha t fo r the 12-ra ce
series I wou ld be the guy. I knew that t her e would be times wh ere
the other ride rs would have their race moments. But I have a lot of race
A
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AUGUST 4,2004 • CYCLE NEWS
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